Pages

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

District 2: Cinnamon Oatmeal Scones (with Maple Icing).

I would have gotten this bread posted earlier today, but I was TOO BUSY EATING IT. I'm a bit of a picky eater, so, going into this, I expected there would be quite a few breads that I wouldn't particularly like. I thought this might be one of them, because I'm not a big fan of oatmeal. But I was so, so wrong...

District 2's primary industry is masonry and stonework, but it's also known to supply Peacekeepers and weaponry and is considered something of a pampered "pet" of the Capitol (they were rewarded with better treatment than other districts because they remained loyal to the Capitol during the rebellion that led to the Dark Days). "Hunger Games" author Suzanne Collins describes the bread of District 2 as a dark, rectangular wholemeal roll. I thought that the Capitol's pets ought to have a sweet-treat-type of bread, so I felt like these cinnamon oatmeal scones, topped with cinnamon-maple icing, seemed to fit both Collins' description and our expectations of District 2.

(Forgot to leave the butter out ahead of time? I almost always do....Conveniently, you need the whole stick, so before you unwrap it, put the cold stick in the microwave and microwave it on high for four seconds, roll it over 90 degrees, microwave four seconds, roll over, and repeat until you've microwaved it four seconds on each side. It's not quite as effective as actually leaving it out at room temperature for an hour or two, but it works!)

Mix (I don't have a "pastry blender", as called for in the original recipe to "cut the butter in", so I just used my stand mixer)...

...until mixture is crumbly:

Add milk and mix until dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened:

Plop that dough onto a floured surface:

Knead the dough a few times (flour your hands, too, or they'll stick):

On a greased cookie sheet, press the dough into a rectangle about one inch thick/high:

Cut it into smaller rectangles (I went with six because I liked the size, but you can cut it how you like), leaving only a little space between each piece:

Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes, until edges and tops begin to turn golden brown:

While the scones bake, start on the icing. Pour the powdered sugar and cinnamon into a small bowl:

Mix together:

Add the milk and maple syrup:

Mix well:

When the scones are done baking, remove them from the oven:

I picked the prettiest one and set it apart for the upcoming picture-taking...

With a pastry brush...

...brush the icing (liberally) onto the scones:

Oh my WORD, that cinnamon-maple icing is the best! I scraped that icing bowl clean afterwards.

Finished! Can't you just imagine little Cato and Clove snacking on these between Career training sessions back home, growing up?

For your cut-and-paste convenience:

Cinnomon Oatmeal Scones (with Maple Icing)

Scones:

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup old-fashioned/rolled oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup milk

Icing:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

Add softened butter and mix until crumbly.

Add milk and mix until ingredients are thoroughly moistened.

On floured surface, knead dough a few times.

On greased cookie sheet, press dough into rectangle 1" thick/high.

Cut into smaller rectangles (leaving close together).

Bake 20-30 minutes, until edges and top begin to brown.

In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and cinnamon for icing.

Whisk in milk and syrup.

Brush icing onto scones.

Easter Eggs
Let the hunt continue! Once again, I've hidden props/references from other fandoms in this post's main photo. Can you spot them?

(Hint: There are two this time.)

How'd you fare last week? Ready for the reveal?

That's Arwen's Evenstar pendant from "The Lord of the Rings" poking up from inside the jewelry box, and, from the second movie of the trilogy, that's Eowyn's necklace lying just outside the box. And the flowers are a reference to a trigger phrase in "Dollhouse": "There are three flowers in a vase; the third flower is green" (and the reverse trigger phrase, "...the third flower is yellow"); if you've seen the show, you should recognize the phrase from one of the show's most "HOLY CRAP DID THAT JUST HAPPEN" moments (if you haven't seen it, drop whatever else you're doing and go watch it now!).

Let me know in the comments if you catch this week's Easter eggs! (May the odds be ever in your favor!)

Search This Blog

About Me

I'm a geeky mom. I want to raise my kids to passionately pursue what they want. I want them to be unafraid to love what they love; I want them to have the courage to speak up about and fight for what matters to them. I hope they like some of the things I like, but if they don't, I want to be the mom who cheers them on in whatever they love. I want them to live adventures of their own, and slay their own dragons. And I'm gonna write about it.